The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1887-12-02
The fat old doctor met her hall way

lu. abe Thought. What was he made
of-stone? She thought She 2nI;st
shrek out with pain and
evaporation when she saw him move
SO slowly; she would burst a blood
vessel if he did not hurry. He was
net made of stone, but ofheavy, solid
flesh, iron nerves and phlegmatic feel
ings. What, though people were dy-
ing with rattlesnake poison, OF crarnp
colo, or what not; could he be K
pected to excite himself and rush
around till his fat person was bRthed
in prespirationl Que v~oulezsvousl
People must die and hearts must
break, and meanwhile the doctor
must take time to catch his breaths
Alberta urged. implored, but not
one fraction of a second did he quick.
On his step, she thought. He was Inn
placable; he ought to be tortured.
= = At last they were in a bug
gy together, and the frantic girl seized
the reins and whipped the horse until
they dew along the dusty road at q
break-neck speed, and the phlegmatic
doctor was actually in fear OF his life.
But all was in vain. The doctor
came too late; and after q night of
agony the unhappy, ill.starred Acton
died.
The lonesome, dreary time of sigh
ing winds andfalling leaves-the South
ern wInter-had come and gone, and
Alberta had seen M one bat Aunt
Dicey and the people on The planta-
ton, When sympathetic neighbors
called she sent word that she vas too
unwell to see them. When Captain
Lawrence wrote to know if he might
come to her, she answered briefly
mop When old Miss Alkaline wrote
that she was coming the next week, a
telegram was sent in answer, forbid
ding her to come near. Castle Folly
was in mourning; it's pale, thin, tear
less mistress wished to see no one.
Captain Lawrence had not written
the second time, but MISS Alkaline
wrote in wrathful rejoinder to Al
berta's telegram that she feared "the
family" had another subject for the
~lunatic asylum on it's hands. Soon
repenting OF this cruelty she wrote
again, and was this time abjectly af-
fectionate, begging her unhappy grand
niece to come to her, and though All.
berta was equally tender in her reply,
she once more refused to quit Castle
Folly.
"Dis place gwine ter rack. honey
said Aunt Dicey, dolefully, n day
late in the spring. Need a man to
run dis place."
Alberta smiled indulgentIy. "Hav-
MT we got a man TO run it2a she ask
| ed, referring to the overseer.
"Dat ainh wat Italkin' bout honey.
/ talkin' bout de Cap'n. Wuss de
reason % dohn come down yuh at
your"
because / told him to stay away
can he ainh got epunk enough ter
come anyhow Laws-a-mussy! !
fought de Cap'n had mo- spunk'n dat
"I thought so, too murmufeG AL
berta. when she Thought the old nurse
was out or hearing.
Her young mistress looked more and
more as il another world would soon
claim her, and becoming really alarm-
ed, Aunt Dicey one day made her
mind to take a bold step. She would
write TO the captain. A lady on q
nelghboring plantation, whose friend
ship she had cultivated more carefully
than Alberta had DONE acted as
amanuensis-frst having been bound
to solemn secrecy.
'Tel'im | writin' it an Miss Alberta
dunner nut'n ell bout it, Aunt Dicey
argued. "eTell i'm Ell she'z ter know it
she aver Ias'ngIY gle me Wnt Paddy gle
the Misunderstanding. TELL inn Miss
Alberta mighty poly desc days an
look lax she wohn be wild as long; g,
better come down yuh an ticker way
from yuh vile got de chance. Tell i'm
| Ell 3 dohn wonter do it reck'n we wohn
fret-deh's q heap mo'uv EN- sides
him a willin' an arwaitin'. Tell i'm /
say eff % ainh got no mo- spunk'n ter
'waydes kase Miss Alberta tell i'm ter,
den dass all / wanter know bout 'iml
Tell i'm de woman spises a man WIT
ainh got de spunk; dey rudder see 10
mems show dey spunk an rule de
roost den ter hab dey " way any
day"
Hardly more than q week after this
remarkable letter was posted, Alberta
received one from her aunt, old Mrs.
Alkaline. II saw Herbert to-day" she
wrote, toward the close OF her letter.
GA change has come over him, 1t
strikes me. Prepare yourseltfer START
ling news. He is going down to take
Castle Folly by storm-says he has
stood it as long as he can, and be IN
tends to take you away from that
place aud marry you whether you viii
or no. hope you two won't fight.
During the past six months Alberta
had gone almost every day to put
fresh flowers on Acton's grave, but to-
day it pleased her to send Aunt Dicey
instead, buaying herself the mean,
while going through her wardrobe.
Aunt Dicey went and returned in o
very short time the picture OF terror.
She had seen = rattlesnake in the
burying ground near Acton's grave,
and was at once filed with f~orhonings
OF fearful i'll. No words could have
convinced her that she had seen any
other than the veritable Billy him
INA